Members of the White Earth Tribe and residents of the reservation discuss the future of membership and tribal governance in this landmark constitutional forum

It’s week two of KFAI’s Fall Pledge Drive! Call in on Monday morning to pledge your support at 612-375-9030 or donate now online.

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Note: In light of the upcoming vote to ratify the current proposed draft of the White Earth National Constitution, we feature exclusive live conversation with White Earth Luminary Winona LaDuke on this monumental decision for their tribal members before our encore presentation. We have also invited Attorney Frank Bibeau, and Constitutional Reform Manager Terry Janis to comment on Monday’s special edition encore.

In concert with production partner, KKWE/Niijii Radio, TruthToTell traveled west on August 14th, to the White Earth Reservation to air/televise the 7thin our series of LIVECommunity Connections forums on critical Minnesota issues in the rooms of Community Partner Shooting Star Casino – where we taped an debate on the meaning and impacts of a proposed new home rule constitution to be voted on by White Earth Nation tribal members this Fall. This is a burning issue among members of the entire Minnesota Chippewa Tribe(MCT), whose current Constitution currently governs all Minnesota bands under its jurisdiction.

The audience consisted of all residents and enrollees affected by the proposed constitutional provisions and commentators and analysts from various Chippewa nations in Minnesota. So lively was this debate, we went almost two hours. Which is why this week, we bring you Part II of the discussion, which largely consists of the audience commentary and debate. If you missed our broadcast of Part I of this forum, watch the video here.

Producer/Host Andy Driscoll and Associate Producer/Co-host Michelle Alimoradi, in concert with community and media partners wanted to bring this Community Connections program to affected residents of the Reservation and its neighborhoods/communities, conversations that strike at the heart of the White Earth Band’s quality of life, as well as its integrity in protecting the longstanding treaties negotiated over the ability to govern by democratic vote.

TruthToTell: Community Connections is made possible by a generous grant from the Bush Foundation, which has enabled TruthToTell to partner with KFAI community radio, St. Paul Neighborhood Network (SPNN), and selected community partners to present these discussions and dialogues on important issues like education, the environment, health care, politics and elections, transportation, Native concerns, youth issues and more, into the key communities affected by these respective topics for radio, television and online distribution.

CivicMedia-Minnesota is a 501c3 non-profit production company based in St. Paul, Minnesota, created to bring civic and media literacy to the Twin Cities region and Minnesota, informing, educating and empowering residents and students in local, state and regional public affairs and to amplify the voices of concerned communities on key issues facing them every day. CMM’s main goal is to engage citizens by helping them understand issues of governance and public policy, critique media coverage of critical policy matters, encourage public discourse and help people take collective action to resolve problems and influence public policy. More information and past show archives can be found at www.truthtotell.org.

On-air guests:

ERMA VIZENOR - White Earth Tribal Chair

GERALD VIZENOR – Author/Poet, Constitution Writer

MICHAEL DAHL - White Earth Land Recovery Project Community Liaison and Niijii Radio